The present invention relates to a multi-layered extricable seat assembly attachable to a cockpit of a racing vehicle for a driver of the vehicle.
The demand to improve driver safety and protection in vehicles, especially in racing vehicles, continues to grow. Race cars, such as Formula-I vehicles, require careful engineering to balance vehicle performance and driver safety. A major focus of maintaining and increasing driver safety is structurally improving the seat and cockpit in which a driver rests.
Engineers and designers of race car seats and passenger vehicle seats are especially challenged in improving seat design to accommodate protection to the driver and passenger(s) of a vehicle during an impact event or crash, and to accommodate the handling and stabilizing of the driver after the crash. In many circumstances, emergency response teams have experienced difficulty in handling an injured driver after an impact event. In an event of a vehicle impact wherein the driver is injured, safety belts and/or harnesses are removed from the driver whom then is manually lifted out of the seat, transported on a support surface, and extended thereon such that the driver lies flat. During extrication from the seat, the driver is supported by emergency response members for safe handling. However, there are situations in which the driver may have experienced an injury requiring extreme care by the emergency response members in handling the driver, such as in a spinal injury situation. In such situation, the extrication described above can be improved to accommodate better handling and stabilizing of the driver.
Moreover, improvements to the seat can be made to easily fit into the cockpit of the vehicle while accommodating the body shape of the driver. The cockpit of a vehicle typically has a seat installed therein which is formed to fit the shape of the cockpit. The seat, on the other hand, does not substantially conform to complement the body shape of the driver when resting thereon. As a result, additional materials and cushions are installed to conform to the body shape of the driver. Without such installation of materials and cushions thereon, undesirable chronic shifting of the driver""s body occurs during operation of the race car, affecting the driver""s performance, endurance, safety, and comfort. Currently, the installation of additional materials and cushions is very time consuming and labor intensive.
Thus, what is needed is an improved extricable seat assembly which overcomes the problems stated above.
What is also needed is an extricable seat assembly that provides improved protection to the driver during an impact incident and provides improved safe handling and stabilizing of a driver after an impact event.
What is also needed is an extricable seat assembly which is formed to fit into a cockpit of a racing vehicle and complements the shape of a driver""s body.
An object of the present invention is to provide for an improved extricable seat assembly attachable to a cockpit of a vehicle for a driver of the vehicle. The seat assembly generally comprises a bottom portion, a back portion, a left portion and a right portion. The bottom portion supports the lower torso and the upper legs of the driver and has a hingedly connectable upper edge. The back portion supports the spinal column of the driver and has a lower edge hingedly and detachably connected to the upper edge of the bottom portion. The back portion has hingedly connectable left and right edges. The left portion supports the left paraspinal area of the driver and has a lower edge hingedly and detachably connected to the upper edge of the bottom portion. The left portion also has a right edge hingedly and detachably connected to the left edge of the back portion. The right portion supports the right paraspinal area of the driver and has a lower edge hingedly and detachably connected to the upper edge of the bottom portion. The right portion also includes a left edge hingedly and detachably connected to the right edge of the back portion. In the event of an impact, the seat assembly allows an outstretched position of the driver such that the driver rests substantially coplanar with a support for post extrication handling of the driver. The seat assembly also allows removal of portions of the seat assembly from the driver.
In another embodiment of the present invention, the seat assembly comprises a common outer layer, a custom-formed integral inner layer, and an impact energy material. The common outer layer has a first surface and a second surface attachable to the cockpit of the vehicle. The common outer layer is formed to be received in the cockpit. The custom-formed integral inner layer is formed to complement the shape of the body of the driver. The inner layer is press-fit attached only at its periphery to the first surface of the outer layer, defining a void between the inner and outer layers. The impact energy material is disposed in the void between the inner and outer layers to adhere the inner and outer layers for support of the driver when in the seat assembly.
In another embodiment, the present invention includes a multi-layered extricable seat assembly attached to a cockpit of a racing vehicle for a driver of the vehicle. The seat assembly includes a bottom portion to support the lower torso of the driver, a back portion to support the spinal column of the driver, a left portion to support the left paraspinal area of the driver, and a right portion to support the right paraspinal area of the driver. The bottom portion has a hingedly connectable upper edge. The back portion has a lower edge hingedly and detachably connected to the upper edge of the bottom portion and hingedly connectable left and right edges. The left portion has a lower edge hingedly and detachably connected to the upper edge of the bottom portion and a right edge hingedly and detachably connected to the left edge of the back portion. The right portion has a lower edge hingedly and detachably connected to the upper edge of the bottom portion and a left edge hingedly and detachably connected to the right edge of the back portion. Each portion includes a common outer layer, a custom-formed integral inner layer, and a liner. The common outer layer is attachable to the cockpit of the racing vehicle and is formed to be received in the cockpit. The custom-formed integral inner layer is formed to complement the shape of the body of the driver. The inner layer is press-fit attached only at its periphery to the outer layer, defining a void between the inner and outer layers. The liner is disposed in the void between the inner and outer layers to support the driver in the seat assembly.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide an improved method of manufacturing an extricable seat assembly attachable to a cockpit of a vehicle for a driver of the vehicle. The method includes providing a common outer layer having a first surface and a second surface attachable to the cockpit of the vehicle and a custom-formed integral inner layer formed to complement the shape of the body of the driver. The method further includes contacting the inner layer onto the first surface of the outer layer only at peripheries of the layers to define a void between the inner and outer layers. The method further includes injecting an impact energy material or liner material at a first temperature in the void between the inner and outer layers to support the driver when in the seat assembly and settling the layers and the material for a time period to enable adherence of the layers and solidification for rigidity of the impact energy material.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide an improved method of extricating a driver on an extricable seat assembly of a cockpit of a vehicle after an impact event. The method includes providing the seat assembly on which the driver is to be seated. The seat assembly includes a bottom portion with a connectable upper edge, a back portion connected to the upper edge of the bottom portion and having connectable left and right edges, a left portion connected to the upper edge of the bottom portion and connected to the left edge of the back portion, and a right portion connected to the upper edge of the bottom portion and connected to the right edge of the back portion. The method further includes lifting the driver and the seat assembly after the impact event and placing the driver and the seat assembly on a support. The method then includes detaching the bottom portion from the back portion, left portion, and right portion to lower the legs of the driver in an outstretched position and detaching the left and right portions from the back portion to outstretch the upper torso of the driver, thereby supporting the driver with the back portion.